Death
Death (Japanese. 死神 Death God), also known as the Grim Reaper, is a major villain from Konami's Castlevania series. He has appeared in every game except Castlevania: The Adventure and Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge. Death is Dracula's right hand man, thus he usually appears near the end of the hero's quest, often in the Clock Tower, to challenge them before they confront Dracula. Overview Character history Castlevania: Lament of Innocence This mysterious being forged an alliance with Mathias Cronqvist - who later became known as Dracula - in 1094. Initially, Death pretended to be a servant to Walter Bernhard, owner of the Ebony Stone. However, Death later betrays him after Leon Belmont defeats him with the Vampire Killer whip. It is revealed that Mathias Cronqvist had the Crimson Stone, a stone much more powerful than the Ebony Stone. With Walter defeated,Mathias gained access to Bernhard's Ebony Stone, giving him both of the Vampire Treasures. To add insult to injury, Mathias used the Crimson Stone to suck out Walter's soul and place it inside the stone. The soul became a power source to fuel Mathia's dark desires. Crushed by Mathias' turn to the dark forces of evil, Leon Belmont was ready to slay his former friend when Death arrived and challenged Leon in the final showdown of the game. Even though Death was defeated, Mathias made his escape after some parting words with Leon. With Mathias Cronqvist gone, Leon Belmont swore that no matter where he should go, The Belmont Clan would hunt him and his kind down forever. Since then, Death has proven to be the Count's most loyal and devoted servant. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness After Trevor Belmont had successfully defeated Dracula, the Count placed a curse on all of Europe, with the intent that the corruption and misery bred from it would bring about his ressurrection. To speed up the process, a mysterious priest by the name of Zead came across Hector, and appeared friendly enough with his wanting to help Hector defeat his nemesis, Isaac. What Hector didn't know was that the priest, Zead was actually Death in disguise. However, his disguise did not fool the timetravelling Saint Germain who knew that if either Devil Forger, Hector or Isaac should fall, then the dark lord Dracula could be revived. Both fought, and in spite of Saint Germain getting the upper hand during their first tussle (and mentioning he would return until Zead surrendered), Zead managed to trick him into the Eneomaos Machine Tower and freeze his powers until he was defeated in combat by Hector. After this, Saint Germain left the timeline, after asking Hector to give Zead his sarcastic regards. In the reborn castle of Dracula, Hector fought Isaac and beat him to the brink of death. But before he knew it, the body of Isaac was whisked away into a coffin by Zead who had big plans for him to be the new host body for Dracula's ressurrection. When Zead removed a scythe from his sleeve, it was then that Hector realized who Zead was. Shedding his disguise, Death appeared and battled Hector. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance This time around, Death wanders through Dracula's Castle searching for his Lord while trying to understand where his master has dissappeared to. Death soon realizes that due to Maxim Kischine's eagerness to find and destroy Dracula's body parts the same as Simon Belmont did about half a century ago, he inadvertantly had awoken the spirit of Dracula. This led to Maxim slowly being taken over by the spirit of Dracula, and the split of Dracula's castle into two different castles. Death soon realized that Maxim Kischine's body would make a suitable host for the resurrection of Dracula, and soon sought to prevent Juste Belmont from finding his former friend and freeing him from Dracula's control. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night After the dark priest Shaft's successful resurrection of Dracula, the Count is swiftly defeated by Richter Belmont in 1792. However, due to a sinister curse placed on him by Shaft, Richter is slowly possessed by an evil spirit. 5 years later, in 1797, Richter Belmont mysteriously disappears and Dracula's Castle appears once again. This time, Dracula's son, Alucard awakens from his self-inflicted permanent slumber when he senses that something is terribly amiss. When he enters Dracula's Castle, Alucard is confronted by Death. Since Alucard is Dracula's son, Death gives him a chance to cease his attack and turn back. Upon refusing, Death steals all of his equipment and scatters it throughout the entire castle. Later, when Alucard encounters Death again, Death notes that he has given Alucard ample warning, and with Alucard not backing down, Death engages Alucard in combat. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Death once again wanders through the castle seeking his Lord and Master: Dracula. However, when he runs into Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin, he learns of the interloper, Brauner, taking the role of Lord of the Castle for himself. Death initially rebuffs the idea of anyone except Dracula controlling the castle, saying the notion is "positively absurd". At first, he does not even try to fight the heroes, even hinting at a posssible alliance to kill Brauner, albeit with different aims in mind. However, he is rebuffed and is confronted in the castle's Clock Tower. He leaves the battle when his energy is exhausted, saying he has other affairs to handle. Later, after Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin defeated Brauner, Death materializes and slices through Brauner with a swing of his Scythe to finish him off. When Jonathan and Charlotte pursue him, they find the newly risen Dracula. Ready to take him out, Jonathan is blocked by Death who has come to Dracula's aid. In a surprising turn of events, Death and Dracula decide to team up for their battle against the two young heroes. When either Death's or Dracula's life is depleted, Death screams: "My power! Use my power!" At this point, Dracula uses his Power of Dominance and absorbs Death's soul, allowing him to evolve into the True Dracula. Tradition Death is a Grim Reaper, as such he is never seen without his Scythe. His attacks may have been changing from game to game, but in basic, he always summons floating sickles out of thin air to hunt down his oppositions. Attacks Death always summons sickles out of thin air to attack the player. In the first games, he floats about letting the sickles do all the work. In later games, he can have a second form, and attacks the player with his scythe. He also later has the ability to summon large pillar-like beams to attack the player. In most games, Death has the ability to teleport around the room. In Portrait of Ruin, he used an attack never seen before to transform into a scythe. Appearance Gallery For more Death artwork, please see category Image:Death Japanese Castlevania Manual Clip.JPG|Death in ''Castlevania Image:Death Japanese Vampire Killer Manual Clip.JPG|Death in Vampire Killer Image:Gamebook Death.jpg|Death in Akumajo Dracula Gamebook Image:Death Japanese Simon's Quest Manual Clip.JPG|Death in Simon's Quest Image:Simon's Quest Card Death.jpg|''Simon's Quest'' collectors card for Death Image:Death GB Kid Dracula Art.JPG|Death in Game Boy Kid Dracula Image:Cv3-death2.gif|Death in Dracula's Curse Image:GVH Death.JPG|Death in Akumajo Densetsu: Genuinness Vampire Hunter gamebook Image:Reaper3.gif|Death in Super Castlevania IV Image:Death Rondo of Blood Manual Clip.JPG|Death in Rondo of Blood Image:Reaperx68.gif|Death in Castlevania for X68000 Image:Death Bloodlines Manual Clipping.JPG|Death in Bloodlines Image:Deathcvx.gif|Death in Dracula X Image:SotN Death.jpg|Death in Symphony of the Night Image:Death legends.jpg|Death in Legends Image:Cv64-offart30.jpg|Death in Castlevania 64 Image:Lod-offart4.jpg|Death in Legacy of Darkness Image:Death Circle of the Moon.JPG|Death in Circle of the Moon Image:Death in Resurrection.jpg|Death in Resurrection Image:Death-COTM.jpg|Death in Harmony of Dissonance Image:Death Aria of Sorrow.JPG|Death in Aria of Sorrow Image:Death.jpg|Death in Lament of Innocence Image:Death0.gif|Death in Dawn of Sorrow Image:Death.jpg1|Death in Curse of Darkness Image:PoR-Death.gif|Death in Portrait of Ruin Image:DxC 01 Prologue 03.JPG|Death in Dracula X Chronicles Image:Death Order of Shadows.JPG|Death in Order of Shadows Image:Deathooe.PNG|Death in Order of Ecclesia Image:Official Judgment Death.png|Death in Judgment Image:Pachi dracula 06 1024.jpg|Death in Pachislot game Image:Cod manga Zead Cameo.JPG|Death as Zead in Curse of Darkness Manga cameo Image:Death in Castlevania Arcade.jpg|Death in Castlevania: The Arcade Game-Specific Information Vampire Killer Castlevania Death appears here, as usually, in a large cloak. He fights Simon only by flying around the screen and by making appear little scythes, an attck he uses in every fight. An astuce is known to beat him very quickly : Simon must have the Holy Water equipped and when Death appears, you must jump and throw he Holy Water in his face to make him not to move during a few seconds, allowing you the time to whip him. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Castlevania Legends Super Castlevania IV Castlevania: Bloodlines Depending on the difficulty selected, the boss battle with Death in Bloodlines can be subtley different. Dracula X: Rondo of Blood Castlevania: Dracula X Akumajo Dracula X68000 Castlevania Chronicles Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Death first appears in the beginning of the game, asking to Alucard stop the attack to the castle. As Alucard refuses, he removes Alucard's equipment, and leaves. Alucard meets him again in the Reverse Mine, where he asks again for him to stop. Refusing again, Death says he has no choice them but to kill him, and they fight. Death has two forms: His normal form that conjours heat seeking small scythes, then heat seeking death balls with the latter,then a two large skulls rotating,then two large scythes,finally a monstruous form that uses two scythes. After his defeat, he leaves the Eye of Vlad. Castlevania 64 This incarnation of Death was the first to have "wings". Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness This version of Death is almost identical to the Castlevania 64 Grim Reaper. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Castlevania: Lament of Innocence This incarnation of Death is the only instance in Castlevania that he served as a final boss. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Castlevania: Curse of Darkness The character known as "Zead" that Hector encounters earlier in the game, is indeed Death in disguise. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Death first appears in the Great Stairway. Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin run into him and think he is serving Brauner. He disagrees with that statement and almost makes an alliance with them, although he does not. He is encountered later at the Tower of Death as a boss. He only has two forms, one purple with silver scythes, and one white with red scythes. Purple is weak to magic, and white is weak to physical strength. He is later encountered in Brauner's room and in Dracula's room as a secondary boss. There is a well-known glitch that traps you in the boss room permanently if you skip any dialogue during the Tower Of Death battle. Aside from his best-known moves such as summoning sickles out of thin air, he will create four portals; chains erupt from within each, interlocking to form a square that contains the spinning scythe when thrown or seizing one of the two characters, ensnaring him or her for Death to deliver a killing blow. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Death appears in a section of Dracula's Castle known as Mechanical Tower "Styx Passage" as the game's 12th boss. He wears a green cloak, much like in Castlevania Chronicles or in his second form in Dracula X or Rondo of Blood. He is strong against physical attacks, so equip any items that will increase your intellect & enhance light damage, & also the Nitesco glyph. This battle will be hard, as he will constanly be summoning miniature scythes that track you. One of his attacks also consists of summoning miniature scythes from his hand, which can be easily destroyed. He will rarely use his scythe, which is odd for a battle involving Death. The reward for defeating him is the Sinestro Custos glyph. Castlevania: Judgment Death has been confirmed to make an appearance as a playable character in the 3D fighting game Castlevania Judgment. His appearance is a rather robotic look with no cloak. He is equipped with a scythe on his right hand and a hook that replaces his left. His battle theme is "Evil Symphonic Poem" from Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Just before the song's loop, an arrangement of "Poison Mind" can be heard. Judgment Quotes * Short description: A god who swears his allegiance to Dracula * Before battle: "If you wish for death, here I am." * Before battle: "You fool... how dare you challenge me!" * Before fighting Golem: "You dare challenge me? You forget your place." * Before fighting Time Reaper: "Even your visage mocks me. Die!!" * After battle: "I am the god that governs death." * After battle: "I decide who lives & who dies. You cannot expect to win." * After fighting Cornell: "The master has need of you, but here that holds no meaning." * After fighting Simon: "Your line will die out and fade from memory... it is your fate." * After fighting Alucard: "Shed your weakness and return to our service." * During Hyper Attack: "All at once! Seize them!" "Your fate is sealed. Too late for regrets." "The gates of Hell are open!" "Hahahahaha! I'll swallow your soul!!!" Akumajo Dracula: The Arcade Death is the first boss found in the first person fighter arcade game. He fights near the entrance to the castle. See Also * Trivia * Galamoth has his own version of Death ten thousand years in the future. * For some strange reason, despite his loyalties to Dracula, he fights Soma Cruz in both games that he has appeared in, even though, technically, Soma is the reincarnation of Dracula. It was possible that Death wants Soma dead to allow the power of Chaos to posses Soma and therefore Revive a Dracula. However, this is open for debate. * In Belmont's Revenge, when you walk across the bridge that leads to Dracula, you can see statues in the background that resemble Death. References *Mr. P's Castlevania Realm *The Castlevania Dungeon *Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Official artwork at Castlevania Dungeon *Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Bestiary by Darth Nemesis at GameFAQs.com *Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Walkthrough and FAQ by Zach "Darko" Long at GameFAQs.com External links *Konami of Europe's Death Profile for Castlevania. References Category:Bosses Category: Vampire Killer Characters Category: Haunted Castle Characters Category: Castlevania I Characters Category: Simon's Quest Characters Category: Dracula's Curse Characters Category: Legends Characters Category: Super Castlevania IV Characters Category: Bloodlines Characters Category: Rondo of Blood Characters Category: Dracula X Characters Category: Chronicles Characters Category: Symphony of the Night Characters Category: Castlevania 64 Characters Category: Castlevania 64 Bosses Category: Legacy of Darkness Characters Category: Circle of the Moon Characters Category:Circle of the Moon Bosses Category: Harmony of Dissonance Characters Category: Aria of Sorrow Characters Category: Aria of Sorrow Bosses Category: Lament of Innocence Characters Category: Dawn of Sorrow Characters Category: Dawn of Sorrow Bosses Category: Curse of Darkness Characters Category: Portrait of Ruin Characters Category: Judgment Characters Category: The Arcade Characters Category:Pachislot Characters Category: Order of Ecclesia Bosses Category:Characters Category:Akumajo Dracula Gamebook Characters Category:Genuineness Vampire Hunter Characters